Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- A Berkshire Hathaway Inc. building-materials unit said it voluntarily stopped shipping some
flooring products to Canada after discovering the nation doesn’t
allow importation of goods made with prison labor.

Shaw Industries Group Inc., based in Dalton, Georgia,
learned in December that the hardwood-floor products can’t
legally be imported to Canada, according to an e-mailed
statement from Scott Sandlin, a company vice president. Shaw
contacted Canadian authorities and halted the shipments to the
country, he said.

“Shaw is cooperating with Canadian customs and is not
anticipating any penalties or fines related to this issue,”
Sandlin said in the statement.

The hardwood flooring is made with the help of prison labor,
part of a U.S. government-approved program that allows inmates
to be paid for their work, Sandlin said. Berkshire, the holding
company run by billionaire Warren Buffett, acquired Shaw in 2000.